NewCity Orlando Sermons

Easter Service 2025 | John 20:24-31

• NewCity Orlando

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In this Easter message, Associate Pastor Benjamin Kandt reflects on the story of Thomas, the disciple who famously doubted the resurrection. Rather than condemning his skepticism, Jesus met Thomas exactly where he was—inviting him to touch his wounds and believe. This moment reveals a God who enters locked rooms of fear and doubt, offering grace, not shame.

The resurrection isn’t just a historical event; it’s an invitation into new life for those who question, suffer, and long for restoration. Jesus’ scars become a healing response to our deepest wounds, showing that faith isn’t blind—it’s grounded in love, community, and truth. The gospel calls us not to behave better, but to believe deeper. Jesus meets us in our doubt and leads us into joy.

Nadia:

Today's scripture reading is going to be from John 20. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here. And see my hands, and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. Thomas answered him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. This is God's word. May we be seated.

Ben:

Well, happy Easter. My name is Ben. I'm a pastor here with New City. And in 2022, my wife and I took a baby- moon to Sedona, Arizona. We actually got the 'Rona in Sedona, Arizona, but that's another story for another day. And while we were there, each day we hiked. We went on these different hikes, and there was one particular hike that had this kind of side quest to this marked place called the Subway Cave. But in order to find it, you had to be willing to go off trail. And so we used our AllTrails app, and it had these strange instructions like, look for the large rock, and then three trees later, turn left. And so I confidently led us until we were completely lost. So we had to backtrack. and go to the place where we knew, we recognized where we were. And when we got there, we had to chart our course again and try another time. But this time, somebody came along who had been to the subway cave before. They met us where we were and they said, hey, come follow me. I'll take you to where you're trying to go. And so we followed this person to the Subway Cave and it was worth the wandering. It was amazing. In that moment, what we needed is we needed somebody to meet us where we were and to lead us to where we were trying to go. And this morning, as we look at John 20 on Easter Sunday, this resurrection story, I just want to look at one simple, vital, life-changing truth, which is Jesus meets us where we are and leads us to where He is. Jesus meets us where we are and He leads us to where He is. So if you have a Bible or a device... Or a worship guide. The scripture text is printed here on the back. I invite you to go ahead and get it in front of you as we look at John chapter 21 together. Look with me at verse 24 right at the top. It says this. Now Thomas, one of the twelve called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came. This is the ultimate you should have been there moment. In this moment, the risen Jesus, alive from the dead, came to hang and Thomas was booked. He had something else going on. He wasn't there. Like, can you contemplate the cosmic level of FOMO that Thomas is experiencing in this moment right now? And it gets worse. Look at verse 25. So the other disciples told him, we have seen the Lord. You see, in this moment, Jesus was executed by the Roman government, and now your friends are telling you that they've seen him alive from the dead? Like, some of you feel like Thomas. Enter into that state where he's at. Some of you are here this morning because a friend invited you to come, and they were sketchy about it. They're like, let's go grab brunch and stop by church on the way or something like that, and you're just trying to figure out what's going on right now. Welcome. We're so glad you're here. But you feel a little bit like Thomas, right? Your friends talk about Jesus like he's this bright living reality and you feel like maybe you've missed it. You don't experience it the same way that they do. Well, look how this text goes on in verse 25. But Thomas said to them, unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. Thomas is that kid in class who asks the question that everybody else is wondering but doesn't want to look dumb by asking. That's Thomas. He's the master of the awkward question. And by so doing, he creates space for real people with real sincere doubts. So thankful for Thomas in the scriptures. In fact, in the gospel accounts, which are these biographies, these portraits of Jesus, all four accounts of Jesus' life, they end with people doubting the resurrection. In Matthew chapter 28, it says, when they saw Jesus, they worshiped him, but some doubted. In Luke, I'm sorry, in Mark 16, it says, they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. In Luke 24, it says, the story sounded like nonsense, so they didn't believe it. You see, if you were going to write a Holy book, like the Bible, Would you record that some of Jesus' earliest followers, people who had been there with him for three years and his closest friends, would you record that they doubted that he rose from the dead? Like if this was propaganda, would you put that in there? Probably not. In fact, this is one of the evidences for the authenticity of the Gospel accounts that they're real eyewitness testimonies because they're honest the authors are honest about their doubts their fears their confusion their failures but we moderns we think we're mature you know we look at this and we think the ancient apostles must have been naive after all we have modern science which couldn't exist without the apostles writings but that's another sermon and And we kind of come at this thinking that they don't really know what they're talking about, but these eyewitnesses were thoughtful, even skeptical. They were not naive or stupid. You see, they had real standards for a world-changing belief like somebody coming back from the dead. They didn't just assume this in some superstitious worldview. Thomas has a pretty high bar for belief. Look at it again. He says this, unless... I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side. I will never believe. This morning, what is your unless? What is it for you? What is it that would be your bar for belief? How high is it set? Do you know where it's set? Thomas would not have been satisfied with a stunt double, or a ghost, No, Thomas wanted empirical proof that his friend Jesus, who is murdered by the Roman government, was visibly and palpably and tangibly back from the dead. Nothing less than that would suffice for him. That's what he says in verse 25. He says, I will never believe. Now, our beliefs are kind of like the pipes in our house. We don't really examine them until they're broken, until they're not working for us. You see, doubt emerges when, when the superficialities of our faith confront the realities of our world. That's where doubt grows. And so Thomas is in this moment experiencing profound disappointment. A little earlier in John's Gospel, in John chapter 11, Thomas says, let's go die with him. Like, I'm ready to roll out. 'Till death. But Jesus wasn't who he expected him to be. And that gap between our expectations and our experience, that's where disappointment lives. Thomas is experiencing disappointment. soul-shattering disappointment in this moment, and it's making it really hard for him to believe. So I'm curious, what would have you say, I will never believe? What is that for you? For my grandfather, it was losing his dad as a teenage boy. He thought, I could never believe in a God that would let that happen. What is it for some of you this morning? Where have you made a vow to protect your heart from a level of disappointment or confusion where you won't let yourself hope to that extent ever again. And so you said, I will never. What is that for you this morning? And so another way to ask that question is, what would it take for you to believe again? Thomas was really clear about this. Are you? In verse 26, the story goes on. It says this. Eight days later, his disciples were inside again and Thomas was with them. This is important when you read the Bible. You've got to know that the Holy Spirit doesn't waste His breath. Eight days later is important. You see, Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday. This is eight days later, which ancient ways of counting days, that actually meant a week later. This is another Sunday. So here's another Sunday, and Jesus is appearing among His disciples. Again, what's the big deal? Well, What would it take for an extremely religious people whose high holy day of observance was Sabbath worship on Saturday, what would it take for them to, in about a week, change that to Sunday? For millennia, the Jewish people were worshiping God on Saturday, and then out of nowhere, seemingly, The early disciples of Jesus, all of which were Jewish, begin worshiping Jesus on Sunday, which is called the Lord's Day, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What would that take other than maybe something like a resurrection? This is another evidence that Jesus actually is alive, that He actually came back from the dead. But it's more than that. You see, it's more than that because Jesus meets us in community. He meets us in community. This is why we still make a big deal out of Sunday gatherings. This is why we still gather as the people of God to worship God on Sundays. It's because Jesus meets us in this place. Look with me at verse 26. It says this. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. You see, the locked doors didn't stop Jesus then and it won't stop Jesus now. Your I will never is Jesus' hold my wine. men. That's what he's doing in this moment. He's ready to walk through those locked doors of your heart, those commitments, those vows, and show up and show you his wounds. That's what he does in our text. Because Jesus meets us where we are, but he doesn't leave us there. Look at the passage again in verse 26. It says, That's actually the literal translation. Everybody here. This is important because Christianity is not primarily a personal religion with a private faith. It's a communal religion with a personal faith. You can't be a Christian by yourself. Doesn't work that way. Another way to say this is that what you believe is shaped by three things in this order. Here's the three things that shape what you believe about the world. What you find plausible. First, your community. Second, your experiences. Third, evidence. In that order. Now, this is why who we belong to shapes what we find believable. When I was a student at UCF, there was a student organization called the Free Thinker Society, and they all believed the same thing, which is interesting, right? It was a group of atheists and agnostics, all free thinking for themselves, but with the same beliefs about everything. This isn't a Christian thing, it's a human thing. We choose who we belong to and then we begin to believe what that people believes. This is why community is so essential to the Christian faith. This is a communal religion with a personal faith. It's something where you have to belong in order to believe. It's so essential to become a part of a people. But Jesus says this in verse 26, peace be with you all. But then he said to Thomas, you see that? Jesus spoke to all And then he turned to the one. I think that's happening this morning. I really believe that. Jesus is here. He's saying, peace be with you all. He's saying, if the tomb is empty, anything's possible. Have peace in that. But then he's turning to some of you this morning. And he's saying, what's the barrier? What's getting in the way? He's turning to you like he turned to Thomas of old. And so I'm going to invite you. Jesus is meeting you where you are in your doubts, in your disappointments, in your confusion. He's meeting you there. And he's inviting you to talk to him. Tell him the truth about where you find yourself. Tell him your doubts. Some of you are going, Jesus, where were you when? And Jesus is saying, look at my scars. Some of you are saying, yeah, but what about all the pain and the brokenness in the world? And he's saying, see my side. Some of you are wondering, you're saying, but how could you let this happen? He says, touch my wounds. You see, Jesus is not dismissing your doubts. He's drawing you up out of your doubts into his work, what he's doing in the world, into a larger picture. This is important because Jesus meets us not only in our doubts but in our pain and in our sin and in our suffering. Why does he have scars? John Steinbeck said it like this, to be alive at all is to have scars. Jesus lived a fully human life. He shared our humanity with all of its pain and disappointment and even Jesus struggled with doubts. On the cross he says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? There was a struggle with faith in that moment for him. But listen, he came from heaven to earth to meet you where you are. Jesus went through hell to meet you where you are. And so he's meeting you where you are this morning, but he's not leaving you there. Notice what he does. There's a challenge in this text. In verse 27, it says, do not disbelieve, but believe. Some of you this morning need Jesus to comfort you, to show you how he's patient and gentle with you in your doubts. But some of you this morning need Jesus to confront you, to tell you to stop doubting, to start doubting your doubts and stop believing them so strongly, you person of faith. You see, Jesus is willing to move towards you because his goal is not certainty. His goal is that you would have confidence in a person. In verse 28, we see Thomas' response. Thomas answered him, my Lord and my God. There is no greater confession of who Jesus is in all of the gospels than this one right here. Do you see what that means? It means that Jesus' wounded flesh can heal our wounded faith. Jesus alone is able to take the greatest doubters and turn them into the greatest believers. Thomas' story recorded in history says that Thomas actually took this good news of Jesus' crucified and risen again, he took it to India and proclaimed the gospel there and was actually killed for his faith. Now listen, some of you who doubt the authenticity of this account here, that's understandable in a lot of ways, but do people die for a lie? All of these early witnesses to Jesus' resurrection, all of them suffered profoundly for their faith in Jesus risen from the dead. Now, people do teach falsehood knowingly, but they don't die for it. Thomas died for this good news. What would motivate such an unshakable confidence? Well, there's an invitation for you right now, which is, The next three weeks, we're going to do a mini-series on faith. We're going to explore, what does this look like? We're talking about doubt today. We're going to talk about faith over the next two weeks. And so there's an invitation. Come back or check the podcast, whatever it looks like for you. Explore this together. But I want to look just at the faith of Thomas in our text here. It says in this verse that Thomas saw Jesus the man, and then he said to Jesus, my God. Do you see that? You see, because faith is both content and confidence. Faith is a propositional belief. Jesus is Lord and God. That's true. But Thomas says, Jesus is my Lord and my God. That's real. Those two letters make all the difference. Some of you maybe have mere intellectual assent to the truths of Christianity. You find it to be compelling or culturally helpful. That's not what Thomas thought. He thought it was that, but much more. You see those two letters, my, actually take what was intellectual assent and make it personal confidence in a person. My Lord and my God. But some of you are thinking this morning, yeah, that's nice because Thomas got to see Jesus and touch his wounds. What about me? Well, Jesus thought you would say that. He has a way of doing that. Look at verse 29. Jesus said to him, have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Blessed is one of those churchy words. It's Christianese. It means this, happy, flourishing, fully alive if you've not seen Jesus but you still believe in him. That's what Jesus himself says. Peter, who is also in the room, writes in a letter later, he says this, though you have not seen Jesus, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. Do you want that? I want that. That comes by believing. But how are we supposed to believe when we haven't seen? Well, according to John, it's this book. It's this book right here. Look at verse 30 with me. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Listen, if you're exploring Christianity this morning, read the Gospel of John. That's the purpose clause for it. That's why it exists is for you to come to understand who Jesus is and ask Jesus to show you himself. Ask Jesus to deal with your doubts like Thomas did. Tell him your doubts. Jesus meets us where we are. And when you find him, he will be worth the wandering. I promise you that. Because he wants to lead you into life. Look at verse 31. That by believing you may have life in his name. Now in English we have one word for life. It's called life. In Greek, there's two words, Bios and Zoe. Bios is where we get the word biology. This is natural, biological life. Zoe is actually a transcendent spiritual life. The word here is Zoe. You see, this distinction's important because we can have Bios without Zoe. Some of you this morning are biologically alive and spiritually dead. It's also possible to be spiritually alive and biologically dead. That's called Heaven. And so what we believe here is that some of you in this room have Bios but not Zoe, and you're spiritually dead because that's the natural state of all human beings apart from Jesus. But Jesus is saying to you in the words of John 10, I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly. I came to give you Zoe. I came to give you my Zoe, my life, my resurrection life. You see, when we turn from God to live on our own terms, we sever ourself from the source of life. Jesus knew that. And He doesn't just meet us in our doubts or our disappointments, our pain, our sin. He meets us in our death. But He doesn't leave us there. You see, He doesn't leave us there. In fact, in John 14, He says, because I live, you also will live. Jesus is alive again, and He wants to make you alive again. here and now and there and then for eternity. But how do we get that? Anybody can get in on this. What does that look like? Look at verse 31. It says that by believing, you may have life in His name. Why is that so important? Well, because if Jesus was just a good teacher who modeled a new way of life, then it would say that by behaving like Jesus, you may have life in His name. Do what He does and you can get what He has. That's what it would say. But that wouldn't be good news for those of us who can't seem to get our act together. For some people, you know, there's this idea of like when you're really serious about your religion, you're called a practicing Jew or a practicing Catholic, something like that, right? But Christianity is not about behaving better. It's about believing deeper. And then you'll practice the faith. It's about deeper confidence in all that Jesus is for us. And that's the invitation. The invitation here is to come to Jesus with all of your brokenness, all of your failings, because there's nothing so wrong with you or me that a good resurrection couldn't fix. And so there's an invitation. And I asked you before, what would it take for you to believe? And I want to ask you now, don't you want the resurrection to be true? Don't you want the undoing of death, the triumph of good over evil? Don't you want the restoration of all things lost, the vindication of the powerless, the reunion of a teen boy with his lost father? Don't you want a future of unending joy and a God with scars who meets us where we are? You see, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not only intellectually credible, it's existentially satisfying. It's what we most long for. And so Jesus meets us where we are. He's right now bypassing the locked door of our hearts and He's presenting to us his wounds. He's meeting us where we are so He can lead us to where He is. Psalm 16 verse 11 says this, you have made known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. This is the destination, the fulfillment. This is the Subway Cave of our existence. This is the thing that we are all longing for. And Jesus, in His life and in His death, meets us where we are so that in his resurrection, He could lead us to where He is. Joy, pleasure forevermore. Let's pray. King Jesus, would you present yourself to us as a bright and living reality this morning? Spirit of God, that's your work. Do it in our midst, we pray. For the beautiful name of Jesus, amen.